Right now I am 21 years old, living in Philadelphia. I first wanted a wolf when I was in 3rd grade, after my class read 'Kavik: The Wolf dog'. My family told me if I showed responsibility I could get a dog, so I used my stuffed animal Pound Puppies to try and show my responsibility: I walked them, I made little beds for them, etc. I took this so seriously that when my parents showed me the Classified Ads, where puppy sales are listed, I made the choice to make calls on my own. I looked through all the listings saying 'A.KC. Puppies Siberian Husky', then came to one listing stating 'Female Siberian Husky: 6 months old', and for a 9 year old that was the perfect choice. I thought to myself: a Siberian husky female is just what I want, so I made the call. They had to call back, and my mom got a rather confusing call, where someone claimed that someone had called and were interested in buying their dog. Surprisingly enough, I was allowed to go see this dog, and my Mom and Aunt went with me. The dog was named Queenie and living in a run down part of West Philadelphia. We all fell in love and my Aunt ran to the nearest Mac to get the $150 to buy the dog.

Now I know there's a lot of people paying $400-1000 some to purchase the dog that they think is 'the dog of their dreams', but I learned that price means nothing. For that meager $150 I received the absolute best friend that I would ever have. I named her 'Sahsa', a Russian name, and she definitely without any doubt has one heck of a personality! Relatives, friends, and strangers have always commented on what I've always known: this dog is special.

She had one blind eye, had to have an immediate operation to get her fixed, and had a bad left leg, but that never could interfere with the tremendous joy and love this dog has made me feel.

She is a 'Siberian Bigmouth', one of my many nicknames, along with 'Food shark' and 'Siberian Slowpoke'. She "Eww's", which is my word for the howling noises she makes. If anyone enters the kitchen, they get "Eww'd" until they give her a snack and if I pay more attention to, or any attention to, the turtle or cat, I get "Eww'd" at. In general, as I say it: she's always 'Ewing up a storm!' When my family complains about how vocal she is, I reply: "Well, I talk to her so much, I guess she's simply learned to talk back.'

As far as the 'Food shark' name goes: she LOVES food, and no matter what meal it is, you can always see her two pointy 'shark fin' like ears above the table edge. It always reminded me of 'Jaws', where you see the shark fin approaching and know there's about to be an attack. Sasha will circle a table with food on it, and then when she thinks no one is paying attention, she will lunge up and snatch food off a plate. Therefore I refer to her as my 'Food shark', though my family isn't too thrilled about this name.

Another exceptional thing about Sasha is that since I was young until now even, she has been the best photo subject in the world. I would dress her up in dresses, cheerleading outfits, etc. when I was young, and these days she poses in Goth Dog clothes, Punk Rocker clothes, and D.J. outfits, among many other cool ensembles! I have a photo album of her which is filled with amazing and hilarious pictures of her dressed in many outfits, or posing in many scenes. I always show this to anyone, whether it be a relative, friend, or a simple visitor. I always dreamed of making a book or calendar out of these photos.

I have many other things to write about my husky and best friend, but I will just simply end with this: this dog that I got years ago, has proved to be so much more than a pet, she is a member of my family and a best friend. Living in the Philadelphia area, and only having a High School Degree, I have trouble getting jobs recently. Despite that, I have found ways to make money, including porch sales and selling my guitar, which I have used mainly to buy my best friend the medicines and treatments she needs in her old age. She has lived so far to be thirteen years old, and I'm very proud of that. I've heard before that the more you love and cherish a dog the longer it will live, and that gives me hope because I couldn't possibly love or cherish my dog more.